Ladder construction



NQV. 9, 1%43. s DRISCOLL 7 2,333,849

' LADDER CONSTRUCTION Filed June 13, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l SAYRSLDEISCOLL.

NW. 9, 1943. E RISCOLL 2,333,849

LADDER CONSTRUCTION Filed June lb', 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SAYES E.DEISCOLL Patented Nov. 9, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE.

say fzl flfisf l fi nffl iifif i ch.

Application June 13, 1941, Serial No. 397,981

2 Claims. (01. czar-3s) This invention relates to ladders, and is moreparticularly concerned with a ladder, the'structure of which is somodified as to render it adaptable to secondary uses.

In the manufacture of ladders which are to serve additionally asbarriers, bridges, skids or the like, it is customary to varyconventional structure in a manner to insure a broadened field ofutility. Of course, such modifications of structure inherently involve acompromise, the goal of which is to maintain unimpaired the bestfeatures of each of the structures which the combination device is toreplace. As the art now stands, this goal has never been attained, knownladder constructions of plural utility being defective in theperformance of either one or both of the intended functions. In otherwords, the utility and strength of a ladder are usually, at least inpart, sacrificed in Order to render the structure more versatile.

A ladder which may have an additional function has been foundparticularly desirable for employment in'c'onjunction with trucks,freight cars and the like in which there is provided a load carrying bedor floor which is disposed in a plane lying a substantial distance abovethe plane of the road surface. In such vehicles it is common to providea barrier surrounding the load carryingfioor and it is highly desirableto have some means to bridge the gap between the fioor and the roadsurface during loading. As a consequence, it has been proposed to somodify a portion of the barrier that it may be used as a ladder duringloading operations. Such constructions are now known but the fulladvantage of the combination construction. is not attainable becausethose constructions characterized by simplicity,

have been found to be lacking in essential strength, while those ofsuflicient strength are of such complexity as to render their useundesirable from a cost standpoint.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a ladder ofnovel construction characterized by great rigidity and strengthwithout/loss of adaptability to secondary functions.

According to this invention, it is contemplated that a barrier structureof wide adaptability be provided, the said barrier structure servingadditionally as a ladder to permit access to the'fioor level of theenclosure. By the employment of this invention, the, provision of acombination truck tail gate and ladder of superior constructionv iscontemplated, the construction being of unimpaired utility. in each ofits functions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ladder, the stepsof which may be folded into a plane parallel the plane of the uprights,while, at the same time, the steps may be rigidly reinforced when inoperative position.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the "fol lowing detailed. description thereof inconjunction with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a truck body showing apreferred type of tail gate constructed in accordance with thisinvention,

-the tail gate being in position to act as a-barrier;

Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 but showing the tailgate in position to function as a ladder, the steps being let down tooperative position; I

Figure 3 is a detail view in side elevation of the lower end'of a tailgate stave showing the hook construction of the present invention bywhich the tail gate is fastened to the truck bed when the former isfunctioning as a ladder;

- ings, it will be seen that the illustrated form of the inventionconsists primarily of two uprights or staves l0 connected by upper andlower rigidly attached slats l2 and i3, respectively. Intermediate slatsl2 and it further slats Hi are provided, each of these being hinged touprights ill in a manner to be hereinafter described. As shown in Figure1, the uprights iii are adapted for coaction with the bed or floor of atruck of conventional construction. As illustrated, and as is customary,the end of a truck bed is normally provided with straps Ila-for thereception of staves which normally maintain the tail gate in position.The ends of uprights ID are, therefore, provided with integral portionsof increased cross-section it for close reception within straps I5. Eachenlarged portion [6 is hollow and generally rectangular in form, whilethe remainder of each upright It is arranged in channel form asillustrated in the various figures of the drawings. By this arrangement,the maximum rigidity of the upright is attainable togetherwith a closefit between the socket defined by strap it and the thickened portion itof each upright. In the position shown in Figure 1, the tail gateconstruction is held against lateral movement by the straps I 5 andagainst downward movement by slat it which is rigidly attached to bothuprights it! and which consequently acts as a stop to prevent theirpassage through strap l5, the bottom edge of the slat resting on theflooring of the truck. In order to facilitate insertion of portionsit ofuprights it within straps I5, one face of the enlarged portion isbeveled as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Having now discussed in conjunction with Figure 1 the-position andfunction of the present invention as a tail gate, reference is now madeto Figure 2 in which the operation of the device as a ladder isillustrated. It should be noted that each upright in is provided witharounded hook H, the shank of which is bolted, riveted, or otherwiseattached thereto. As illustrated in Figure 3, bolts l8 may beconveniently used for this purpose, the shank of the hook being insertedwithin the hollow rectangular portion i6. These hooks function. toattach the uprights iii to the straps i5 when the tail gate constructionis disposed in the manner indicated in Figure 2. As before, slats l2 andi3 serve in part to maintain the rigidity of the construction. It willbe noted, however, that the various stepmembers l4, which, in Figure 1were disposed in a plane parallel the plane of the uprights, in Figure 2are disposed in a plane substantially transverse the plane of theuprights. This movement is accomplished by gravity and is made possibleby the construction best illustrated in Figure 5.

It will be seen that each step member I4 is provided with a hinge l9consisting of leaves 20 and 2| pivoted together for movement about a pin22. Leaf 20 of each hinge underlies and is connected to the lowersurface of a step member ll, the step member extending inwardly towardthe upright ID to a point just short of the barrel formed by portions ofleaves 20 and ii where they surround pivot pin 22. On the other hand,the leaf H is permanently attached to a portion of the upright. This maybe done by .the use of bolts or by welding or any other suitable manner.In operative position the leaf 2! of each hinge extends above the stepwhich is attached to the other leaf 20 of hinge IS. The upper end ofeach leaf 2| is bent outwardly from theface of upright l and with thatface forms a groove. This groove is clearly seen in Figures and 6. Thelength of leaf 2| between the axis of rotation and the bent out portionis conveniently equal to the width of the step to permit nesting asshown in Figure 6. It'can now be seen that each step member It, beinghinged. to both uprights III by a construction such as that shown inFigure 5, is movable from the position of Figure 2 to the position ofFigure 6 at which time it lies in a plane parallel'the plane of uprightIt.

In order that each step member ll may be supported in it's operativeposition, hinge 23 is provided this hinge having a leaf 24 restingagainst a portion of leaf 20 and being attached therethrough to stepmember I. The other leaf 25 of hinge 23 is normally free, but when stepmember I4 is moved to operative position it will follow the pathindicated in Figure 6 and will be. received in the groove formed betweenthe upright In and the bent out portion of the leaf ii of the hinge onthe step directly therebelow. Leaf 25, when received in this groove asshown in Figure 5, serves to support step member ll rigidly in position.

. From the foregoing description, the operation of the described form ofthis invention is apparent. Ifit is desired to use the tail gate ofFigure 1 as a ladder as shown in Figure 2 for the purpose offacilitating loading of the truck,- it is only necessary to raisemanually uprights It to unseat portions l6 from within straps Ii.Thereafter,

about its hinge It to a position at right angles to the uprights in. Itis then only necessary to insert the leaves 25 of the various hinges 23in the appropriate notches to insure maintenance of the steps inposition to resist any strains to which they may be subjected.

The lowermost of the step members I4 is, of course, provided with ahinge 23, the notch for leaf 25 of this hinge being merely the upperedge of slat I2 and the appropriate portion of uprights in.

If the device of the present invention is not to be subjected to greatstrains, the hinges I! may be used without support, it being necessaryonly to employ a hinge of conventional type which will open only ninetydegrees. It will be realized that but one preferred embodiment of thisinvention has been described and that many modifications of thestructure shown may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ladder construction comprising, a pair of spaced uprights, stepmembers extending there-- between, hinges connecting each of saidmembers to each of said uprights to render the members movable to andfrom a position parallel to the plane of the uprights and an extendedstep forming position substantially transverse thereof, the hingeon-each upright having its upper end bent outwardly to form with therespective upright a notch above the step member, and a pair of I meanseach pivotally attached to a step member in a position to register withthe notch directly therebelow, said means each being adapted, when thestep member is in extended position, to engage a notch therebelow, eachof said means being of a width not greater than that of thecorresponding upright, whereby each step mem-' rights to render the stepmembers movable to and from a position parallel to the plane of the.

uprights and an extended step forming position substantially transversethereof, each hinge having its upper end bent outwardly to form with therespective upright a notch above the step member and a pair of platespivotally attached at one end to the underside of each step memberforward of the marginal connection to an upright, said plates beingspaced apart a distance equal to the spacing between the notchestherebelow so that the free end of each plate may fit in a notch whenthe step member is in extended position, the plates so held serving tosupport the step members to which they are attached, while being readilydisengageable when the step-members are SAYRS E. DRISCOLL.

